Family Christmas
by elephantseals
Summary: Christmas won't be complete for the Grey-Shepherd family if Alex and Jo aren't there for dinner!
1. Christmas 2013

December 23, 2013

"Hey—so Derek and I are hosting Christmas Dinner this year and Zola wanted me to take special care to make sure Uncle Alex made it, so I just wanted to confirm that you and Wilson can come?" asked Meredith, as she grabbed her coat from her cubby that evening.

"Of course—anything for that nugget." said Alex, smiling as he buttoned up his shirt.

"And Wilson will definitely be there, too, right? Because I think my son has quite the crush on her." said Meredith, softly.

"Wilson will be there, but you should tell Bailey to watch it—she's mine." said Alex, grinning.

"I don't know, Alex—Bailey's getting to be pretty big, so I'm not sure you could take him. Besides, he's much cuter than you are and he charms the ladies like you never have. You might have some stiff competition." said Meredith, smiling.

"Well, you tell him this: he's the only man in the world that's allowed to share her with me, okay? Just Bailey." said Alex, as the lounge doors opened.

"Who are you sharing with Bailey?" asked Jo, smiling as she walked into the room and over to Alex.

"You—the little guy likes you, and I'm a gentleman, so I've decided that he and I can share you." said Alex, softly, as he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"Oh, please. I'd leave you in a second for Bailey Shepherd. I haven't seen him in so long—he's probably so big now." said Jo, looking to Meredith.

"He's a giant seventeen and a half pounds now." said Meredith, smiling.

"He's pretty little for an eight month old." said Alex.

"Hey—don't knock my kid." said Meredith, feigning hurt.

"I don't know if I like this you, Alex, the guy who makes fun of babies to make himself feel better. If I had any hesitations about leaving you for Bailey before, they're gone now." said Jo, laughing.

"Hah! Now, both of you, I expect to see you at five o'clock sharp on Christmas Day for dinner. Please don't be late—I've told Zola five, and she can read digital clocks. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go pick up the kids before Zola decides that I've abandoned her." said Meredith, smiling as she walked towards the door.

"Five it is. Merry Christmas, Mer." said Alex, as she opened the door.

"Merry Christmas, Alex. And you, too, Wilson!" said Meredith, turning back around for one last second.

"Give my new boyfriend a kiss for me!" called Jo as Meredith walked out of the room.

"Of course!" replied Meredith, as the door shut.

"She wants me to go to Christmas dinner? I'm pretty sure she doesn't like to hang out with interns." said Jo, smiling.

"First of all, you're a resident now. The lost puppies that we got in July are the new interns. Second, she likes you, and you know why? Because you're a good doctor, also she loves me and you're my girl, so she has to like you. And three? That little man of hers really does have a thing for you." said Alex, softly, as he adjusted the collar on his jacket before getting ready to leave for the evening.

"I was serious when I said I'd leave you for him." said Jo, smiling as the walked out of the lounge and headed on their way home.

December 25, 2013

"Uncle Alex! Look! I got a dinosaur for Christmas!" said Zola, shoving the plastic Tyrannosaurus into Alex's face.

"He's awesome, Zo. Who gave you that?" asked Alex, admiring the toy.

"Dr. Brooks—she's so goofy." giggled Zola, slipping one of her doll's pink skirts onto the dinosaur.

"That's one pretty dinosaur you've got there, Zozo." said Meredith, looking over at her daughter and Alex.

"She can wear clothes!" giggled Zola, trying to put a shirt on the T-rex.

"Her arms are too tiny for that, Zo. Maybe try a tank top?" asked Alex, finding a pretty purple tank top in the bin of doll clothes.

"Perfect! Thanks, Uncle Alex!" giggled Zola, slipping the tank top on the dinosaur with ease.

"Who knew you had such a good fashion sense?" asked Jo, looking over at her boyfriend as he played with the little girl, princess crown on his head and clip on earrings on his ears.

"Spare me, princess. It looks like you woke up your boyfriend." said Alex, pointing to the now awake baby in Jo's arms who was looking intently up at her.

"It looks like I did. Hello, Bailey—how was your nap?" cooed Jo as she sat the baby up in her lap.

"See—now for most people he'd just cry, but he just really seems to like you." said Meredith, smiling and waving to her happy little boy as he sat contently in Jo's lap, sucking on his fingers.

"What can I say? I must be the baby whisperer." said Jo, tousling the boy's perfect dark hair.

"Dededede." babbled the baby, reaching up for Jo's hair.

"Can you say Jo Jo Jo?" asked Meredith, making a goofy face at her son.

"Jojojojojo!" he giggled, clapping his hands.

"That's right! And guess who that is? It's Jojojo!" said Meredith, smiling as she pointed at the resident.

"Jojojo!" giggled Bailey, leaning into Jo.

"You, my friend, are far too smart. And too cute." said Jo, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

"Want to show Jojojo what else you know? Who's that? What's your silly sister's name?" asked Meredith, pointing to Zola, who grinned and waved to her brother.

"Hi Bailey! Look at my dinosaur!" she shouted, raising the dinosaur in the air.

"Zozozo!" babbled Bailey, giggling.

"That's right! I am Zozo!" said Zola, running over to give her brother a kiss before running back and climbing into Alex's lap.

"Brilliant, Bailey, just brilliant! But can you tell me who that is?" asked Jo, pointing to Meredith.

"Mamamamama!" he cried, clapping his hands exuberantly as he looked up at Jo for approval.

"That's right—it's your Mama." said Jo, smiling down at the boy.

"You're a natural, Wilson. You should get yourself one of these someday." said Meredith, smiling.

"Someday." said Jo, smiling as she looked down at the little boy as he stuffed her index finger into his mouth.


	2. Christmas 2014

December 22, 2014: morning

"Oh, no—no, no, no. I don't like that look. You have to come to Christmas Dinner or the kids will be so disappointed." said Meredith, as Alex slid a clean scrub top on.

"Look, Mer—" began Alex before Meredith cut him off.

"Alex. There really is no excuse for you to not come to dinner. I know you and Wilson are both off call so there really isn't—"said Meredith before Alex cut her off.

"We'll be there, okay? I just—I'm going to ask her to marry me. You don't think she'd ever say no, do you?" asked Alex, softly.

"Wilson? Not a chance. I'd say you're stuck with her." said Meredith, as the door opened to reveal Jo Wilson herself.

"Stuck with who?" asked Jo, looking at Alex.

"Stuck with Zola—she simply insists that he come to dinner on Christmas. And Bailey cordially requests your presence, too, Wilson." said Meredith, smiling and glad to have saved herself from revealing Alex's impending proposal.

"Well, tell Mr. Bailey that I'd be delighted to attend Christmas dinner—there's nothing else I'd rather do." said Jo, smiling.

"Perfect. He'll be thrilled. Just don't forget to drag that fia—boyfriend of yours with you or I'll have a very unhappy four-year-old on my hands." said Meredith.

"Of course. Now, Dr. Grey—I just got back Mr. Paulson's liver panel. His albumin level is a little low, but his AST/ALT levels are through the roof, his INR is high—" said Jo, looking down at the papers in her hands.

"Dammit. His liver is trashed. Did you get the CT results back?" asked Meredith.

"No—he's still waiting in radiology. It's backed up with patients from the accident on I5." said Jo.

"Okay. Why don't you go back up to radiology and let them know that Mr. Paulson very urgently needs these scans because we're looking at acute liver failure." said Meredith, urgently.

"I'll get right on that." said Jo, walking out of the room quickly. Confused, Alex looked over at Meredith before picking up his backpack and street clothes.

"What's the point of sending her up to radiology? She's not going to get them to scan the man any faster." said Alex, as he shoved his things into his locker.

"I know. I just needed Wilson to leave so that I could talk to you about proposing to her." said Meredith, smiling deviously.

"Look, Mer, there isn't that much to talk about. I'm just asking her to marry me." said Alex, as the door opened.

"You're finally asking Wilson to be Mrs. Evil Spawn?" asked Cristina, sitting down on the couch in the living room.

"Our little frat boy is growing up." said Meredith, smiling.

"Does she have any idea that you're planning on asking?" asked Cristina.

"No. And you two can't say anything about this to her. I want it to be a surprise." said Alex, exasperated.

"Alex, these mouths are sealed. There will be no spilling of proposal secrets before the big day. Which is when?" asked Cristina.

"I'm not looking to make a big deal of it—Jo's not the kind of girl who needs anything fancy or sappy. We're decorating our tree tonight, so I'm probably just going to ask at some point this evening." said Alex.

"Even girls like Wilson want a little sap. I expect to hear that you got down on one knee. And you ought to say something nice." said Meredith, smiling.

"You've gone soft in your old age." said Cristina, looking at Meredith as though she was an alien.

December 22, 2014: evening

"Can you just admit that you bought such a Charlie Brown tree? I mean, look at it—it's ridiculous." said Jo, as she gently set a silver ball on the branch of the tree. Alex had to admit she was right.

"Look—I know it's a little different than, say, a classic Christmas tree, but it's what was available on the 22nd of December. All the other trees were either enormous or already dried out. This was the best I could possibly find. I think it looks alright." he said, setting the red ball near the top of the tree.

"Oh, decorated with lights and ornaments, it looks halfway decent. I just think it's a goofy tree, that's all." said Jo, smiling.

"It's a goofy tree, true, but it's our goofy little tree." said Alex, placing a candy cane on one of the middle branches.

"Our tree. Merry Christmas, Alex." said Jo, smiling lightly as she leaned in to give him a kiss.

"Merry Christmas to you, too." murmured Alex against her lips.

"Now, for the popcorn garland!" said Jo, grinning as she bounced over to grab the string of popcorn and cranberries that she'd hand strung herself.

"The tree looks ridiculous with that on it." said Alex.

"No it doesn't. It looks perfect. Just like a movie tree." said Jo, softly.

"Hey—so I decided that we ought to have stockings, so I got these for above the fireplace. What do you think?" asked Alex, handing Jo her red stocking with it's beautiful, white hand stitched snowflakes and a silver embroidered 'Jo' at the top. Alex's was similar, a green stocking with white snowflakes and a silver 'Alex' right at the top.

"They're perfect." said Jo, smiling as she ran her hand over the satin stocking, admiring the detail when she felt something in her stocking.

"Early present?" she asked, reaching her hand inside to feel a box, taking it out, her eyes went wide.

"Alex?" she asked, staring at him intently. Smiling, Alex reached for the box and took it in his hands.

"I resigned a long time ago that I just wasn't going to get to have that happy ending—a wife, a family—it just wasn't in the cards for me. Relationships I was in always crumbled and I was left with less than I started with, which was often a friendship. So that's why, two and a half years ago, I was determined to keep you my friend so that I wouldn't lose you to my failures like I had with others. But it wasn't enough. Friends was great, it was, but I wanted—I needed more, because I loved you more than that. So I took a risk, but for the first time, I wasn't scared. Because I knew one thing and that is this: I love you, Josephine Elizabeth Wilson, and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. Will you marry me?" he asked, dropping to one knee before opening the box to reveal a simple, beautiful ring.

"Of course." she said, smiling. With that, Alex, stood, slipping the ring onto her ring finger.

"You make me the happiest—" he said, before Jo cut him off.

"Just shut up and kiss me." she said, leaning in to place a kiss on his lips.

December 25, 2014

"So does that mean we can call her Aunt Jojo now?" asked Zola, looking up at Meredith.

"It does indeed." said Meredith, smiling down at her daughter.

"Aunt Jojo, Aunt Jojo!" giggled the little boy in Jo's arms, as he wrapped his arms around his recently proclaimed 'best friend'.

"The ring is beautiful, Jo. Good work, Alex!" said Meredith, admiring the ring on Jo's finger.

"I think it's perfect." said Jo, smiling.

"It's pwetty." giggled Bailey, holding her hand with the ring up to his face to look at it.

"Now, if Bailey says the ring is pretty, it must be the truth!" said Jo, smiling as began to tickle the boy and cover his face in kisses.

"Stop, Aunt Jojo!" he laughed, flailing on her lap.

"Never!" said Jo, laughing as she continued to tickle the boy.

"Uncle Alex! Save me!" shrieked Bailey.

"Have no fear, Sir. Bailey." said Alex, rising up and running over to Jo and Bailey. Smiling, he began to tickle Jo. Immediately, she stopped tickling Bailey and began to laugh and writhe herself, allowing Bailey to slip out from her grasp on the couch. Giggling, he sat next to her, helping Alex tickle her.

"Zola, help!" cried Jo, looking to the little girl.

"Boys! Boys! Stop!" called Zola, as she stomped over. Grinning, Alex turned and scooped the five-year-old up and spun her around.

"Aunt Jojo! Mommy! Help!" called Zola as Alex flipped her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"I'm afraid we can't help you, Zola!" said Meredith, laughing.

"I'll save you, Zozo!" said Bailey, jumping on the couch.

"Should we go get her?" asked Jo, standing up and placing the little boy on her shoulders.

"Let's get him!" said Bailey, pumping his fist into the air as Jo carried him over to Alex as Cristina, Meredith, and Derek stood in the doorway.

"They're basically giant children." said Cristina, rolling her eyes as she smiled at the Jo and Alex as they paraded around the room with the Shepherd children on their shoulders.

"Look how happy Evil Spawn is, though. Who'd have thought?" asked Meredith, smiling.


	3. Christmas 2015

_**December 22, 2015**_

"Uncle Alex!" shouted the five-year-old, running alone down the hallway towards Alex. Grinning, Alex knelt down to receive the girl in his arms.

"Hi, Miss. Zola!" said Alex, pressing a kiss to the side of the girl's face.

"I'm going to miss you on Christmas this year." she said, softly.

"I'll miss you very much, too, but you guys are going to have a great time at your Nana's house in New York." said Alex, smiling.

"But what will you and Aunt Jojo do for Christmas if we're gone?" asked Zola, looking up at Alex with concern written all over her face.

"I think we're going to work during the day because even on Christmas, there are still sick kids who need doctors." said Alex, smiling.

"But it's Christmas! Aren't you at least going to make cookies or something?" asked Zola as Meredith rounded the corner, clearly glad to have found her daughter.

"Zola! Please let me know when you decide to walk away from me." said Meredith, sternly.

"Okay, Mommy. I was just talking to Uncle Alex about Christmas. Did you know that he and Aunt Jojo are going to work for all of Christmas?" asked Zola, looking up at her mother incredulously.

"You know, I did know that. I think it's smart, you know why?" asked Meredith.

"Why, Mer?" asked Alex, intrigued.

"Because if Uncle Alex works for Christmas this year he won't be missing dinner with us, but he also won't have to work for next couple Christmases. And next Christmas is going to be a pretty special one for Uncle Alex and Aunt Jojo." said Meredith, smiling at Zola.

"Why will next Christmas be so special?" asked Zola, confused.

"Because next Christmas will be their first Christmas with your new cousin." said Meredith.

"Oh yeah! I forgot that Aunt Jojo was having a baby." said Zola, grinning.

"But don't worry, Zo. We'll have to keep the baby up with the tradition of Christmas Dinner with you guys." said Alex, smiling.

"So you'll still come even when you and Aunt Jojo have your own baby?" asked Zola, eyes wide.

"Obviously. You're my girl, Zo, and that brother of yours is pretty neat, too. Besides, I'm going to need you two to be the best big cousins to my kid—you've got to teach the baby how to be awesome like you. Do you think you can do that?" asked Alex.

"Yeah. Don't worry, Uncle Alex—I'll make sure your baby is super awesome!" said Zola.

"That's my girl." said Alex, smiling as one of the nurses walked over.

"Dr. Karev! Lucas Finch in 2318 is having what his mother says are very painful leg cramps—she wants to see you." said the nurse, handing Alex the little boy's chart.

"That's my cue, Zozo. Have a lovely Christmas in New York, and don't miss me too much!" said Alex, giving the girl a quick hug.

"Don't miss me too much, Uncle Alex!" said Zola, giggling.

"It'll be hard, Zo, but I'll try. And you, Mer—don't let the Sheps overwhelm you. Merry Christmas!" said Alex, wrapping his arms around Meredith.

"Enjoy your last quiet Christmas—and wish Jo a Merry Christmas from the kids and I, would you? We certainly will miss you guys at Dinner." said Meredith, smiling.

"I'll let her know. Safe travels, guys! Eat a lot of New York pizza for me, Zozo!" said Alex, taking the chart and walking towards the patient room.

"I bet that I could eat a million, billion pizzas, some with pepperoni, some that are Hawaiian or vegetarian…" rambled Zola as Meredith took her hand and led her in the opposite direction. Smiling, Alex shook his head and walked into Lucas Finch's room.

_**December 25, 2015: morning**_

"What hurts more, Lydia? When I press down? Or when I let go?" asked Alex, pressing and releasing his hand on the girl's abdomen, causing the girl to writhe in pain.

"When you let go." she moaned, reaching for her mother's hand.

"Okay—that's all I needed to be sure. You've got pain that moved from the center of your belly to the bottom right side, you have what's called 'rebound tenderness' which means that it hurts more when I release pressure on your belly, you've got low fever, vomiting, severe pain—I've got to get that appendix of yours out right away, Lydia." said Alex, bending down to the girl's eye level.

"Whatever. Just make it go away." said Lydia, softly, curling up into a ball. "The anesthesiologist, Dr. Tyler, will be here in about fifteen minutes—he's going to give you a drug through your IV that will make you relax, and then he and Dr. Wilson will bring you down to me in the OR so we can get that nasty appendix out." said Alex.

"And how long will that take?" asked the girl's mother.

"A little over a half hour from start to finish, but the nurses won't come get you to meet Lydia in recovery for another fifteen to twenty minutes or so after that." said Alex, softly.

"Okay." said the girl's mother.

"Alright—I've got to go prep the OR. I'll see you when you get in there, Lydia. Mrs. Baker—you shouldn't worry. Dr. Wilson and I are very good at what we do." said Alex, softly.

"Thank you." murmured Lydia's mother, reaching for her daughter's hand as Alex left the room and walked to the OR board to write in the appendectomy.

"So it was her appendix after all?" asked Jo, walking up behind Alex.

"Yep—the poor kid had her Christmas taken down by a teensy, tiny little organ." said Alex, softly.

"Ooh—I get to scrub in?" asked Jo, smiling as Alex wrote her name under his on the board.

"Scrub in? It's all yours. I'll be right there if you need me, but you're taking point on this one, Wilson." said Alex.

"Really? I get to take point…this isn't your warped idea of a Christmas gift, is it?" asked Jo, looking at Alex skeptically for a moment.

"Please. I don't give surgeries as gifts. She's a twelve-year-old—you think I'd gift the opportunity to hack open a kid? This is a teaching moment—it's an uncomplicated appy—a lesson, not a gift. Are you going to take this chance to learn, or are you going to sink, Wilson?" asked Alex.

"I'll take it!" said Jo, smiling.

"That's what I thought." said Alex, softly as he set the marker down on the ledge.

"Anyhow, Merry Christmas!" said Jo, pressing a soft kiss to Alex's lips before walking off to Lydia's exam room.

"Merry Christmas, to you, too." said Alex, smiling as he shook his head.

_**December 25, 2015: evening**_

"Hi, Aunt Jojo!" said Zola as Jo peered into the iPad, waving to the small girl. She grinned as she saw Bailey's face pop on the screen next to his sister's.

"Aunt Jojo! It's Christmas!" said the little boy, his eyes wide.

"I know, Mr. Bailey! Are you guys having a good Christmas in New York?" asked Jo, smiling.

"We have lots of cousins, Aunt Jojo!" said Zola, smiling.

"That's so cool, Zo! I bet it's so much fun!" said Jo, watching as the two kids grinned and nodded.

"When is my baby cousin born?" asked Bailey, pointing at Jo through the camera.

"When is the baby going to be here? In April—so that's one, two, three, four months from now. Do you think you can wait that long?" asked Jo, smiling at the little boy as she counted on her fingers with the little boy.

"I don't know!" said Bailey, with genuine concern.

"We want the baby to take all four months so he's healthy and big and strong, Bailey." said Zola, placing a hand on her brother's shoulder.

"That's right, Zo." said Jo, smiling.

"Jojo, Jojo!" said Bailey, clapping his hands, causing Jo to laugh.

"What is it, handsome?" asked Jo, grinning.

"Guess what? Did you open the present I gave you?" asked Bailey.

"It's in my living room. Do you want me to open it right now?" asked Jo, walking over to retrieve the box.

"Right now!" said Bailey, clapping his hands.

"It's from me, too!" said Zola.

"She helped!" said Bailey, giggling as Jo opened the box to reveal a silver-spray-painted macaroni necklace and bracelet set.

"Oh, guys—thank you so much! They're beautiful!" said Jo, as she put on the necklace and bracelet as Alex walked into the living room.

"Lookin' good, Jo." said Alex, smiling.

"Is that Uncle Alex?" asked Zola.

"It is indeed. I'm jealous of the gift you guys gave Aunt Jo!" said Alex, pressing a kiss to his wife's cheek as he slid down on the couch next to her.

"You wanted jewelry, too?" asked Zola, laughing.

"That's for girls, Uncle Alex!" giggled Bailey, shaking his head.

"Yeah, Alex—macaroni jewelry is for girls. Duh!" she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Zola, Bailey—it's time to watch the movie! Say goodbye to Jojo and Alex!" came Meredith's voice in the distance through the iPad.

"We have to go! Apparently everyone watches this movie every Christmas at Nana's house about a guy that becomes invisible and then nobody knows him until he decides to be happy again." said Zola, shrugging her shoulders.

"Hey—that's one of my favorite movies!" said Jo, smiling.

"Miss you, Jojo!" said Bailey, blowing his Aunt a kiss.

"Miss you, too, Bailey!" said Jo, blowing the boy a kiss, "Thank you both so much for the beautiful jewelry and have a very Merry Christmas! I can't wait to hear all about the trip when you guys get back!"

"Love you, Uncle Alex!" giggled Zola as she waved through the camera.

"Love you, Zozo. And you, too, silly man—give that Mom of yours a kiss from me." said Alex, smiling.

"Okay! We have to go! Bye, bye!" said Zola, both kids waving.

"Bye, bye!" chorused Alex and Jo as the iPad screen went black.


End file.
